The house was built around ten years ago in Cotswold stone in a cottage style with low ceilings.    The ground floor had terracotta tiled floor throughout and the kitchen had been knocked through into the dining room, leaving a long narrow, difficult space which still retained the characteristics of two rooms.   The kitchen was of typical “new house” style and had become tired and overdue for refurbishment.

The design aim was to construct a practical kitchen and dining area which blended to give the feeling of a single room.   An added complication was the RSJ and supporting pillars which, more that anything else, accentuated the division between the two rooms.

The pictures on the right show the original kitchen and dining areas.

The area was stripped back to the walls, the ceiling and the terracotta flooring removed to provide the blank canvas.   To suit the style of the house, a modern Shaker style was chosen as the theme, with appliances and door handles in stainless steel to provide the modern influence.  A theme of cream and light oak was selected to give a feeling of a light airy space. This was enhanced by halogen lighting.  The chosen units were painted oak units in cream, complemented by engineered oak flooring and brown granite worktops, upstands and splashback.

Curved units were used to soften the square ares of the room and the pillars disguised by “wrapping” wall cupboards around the pillar on one side and building the other into the fridge/freezer housing.    Removing coving from the dining area ceiling also brought the two ends of the room into greater harmony.    Wooden venetian blinds were used at all windows to keep the smooth simple lines of the space.

The final result exceeded expectations and met the design objectives providing a highly practical working kitchen with an integrated, yet distinct dining area.

Design and supply: John Cocks
Fitting, flooring and plumbing: Nick Sales
Electrical: AJR Electrical
Units: Lansdowne Ivory
Granite (Labrador Antique): Granite Planet
Cooker : Rangemaster Professional+ Induction
Fridge/Freezer: Fisher & Paykel
Microwave and Cooker Hood: Neff
Kickspace heater: Myson